One of the reasons to "ker plunk" is to fight emulsions which otherwise interfere with the A/B extraction. The method allows you to work with heat, peroxide, salt, gradual increases in pH, additon of acetone or other solvents, and filtration if you wish to add it. The enhanced solubility of heated non-polar solvent and the fluid motion and activity at the interface caused by heating the lower layer facilitate the movement of the freebase to the non-polar layer without contributing to the emulsion. Filtering out a "red glob of emulsion" would be advisable if other measures, such as adding a few drops of peroxide or alcohol, heating, salting, stirring, etc... do not suffice to eliminate the emulsion or reduce its density to a level where migration of the freebase to the non-polar solvent is not impaired. If the emulsion persists and is of such density as to block the interface or impair the migration of the freebase, filtering the emulsion out and extracting the product from its separately would be wise.
Mnkyboy comments: "Add ONLY A FEW DROPS of H2O2 to the mix...If too much H2O2 is added, funky tasting honey may form!"
When this thread was fairly new there was a running discussion about whether to add peroxide at all, and if so, how much to add. Some concern was expressed that peroxide might damage the meth. SWIG in his early ker plunking experiences added 35% H2O2 to the ker plunking pot. He kept this on hand as an oxidizer for sanitizing a pool and spa. A single drop would create intense bubbling and reaction at the interface-- as much or more at times as the addition of dry NaOH (SWIG no longer adds this dry, but only in prepared solution). It was "fun" and occasionally "exciting" ("scary" may be descriptive to some). SWIG had success with ker plunking from his first try, and never noticed a "funky taste" he attributed to H2O2. He can't say the use of strong peroxide affected yield, as his yield increased with the technique. He could not detect damage to the product, which seemed qualitatively better with the technique than without its use. The strong peroxide, used as a sanitizer, was only kept on hand during the summer.
As SWIG's lab skills improved, he experienced less of an interface problem. He became accustomed to a mirror-like interface and usually added only a few drops of 3% H2O2 to see whether an observable effect could be noticed at the interface. Sometimes a thin reddish stain appeared, then faded, and occasionally a dark stain would appear and fade.
In his experience, the strong peroxide helped clear the emulsion and did not appear to be counterproductive, although he cannot say it is or was necessary. He has not encountered a smell or taste problem, and is curious as to whether it may be related to pill gakk of a type he has not encountered.
An education is what's left when you've forgotten what you learned.